The Hatches Creek community has signed the Hatches Creek 'Establishing the Cattle Yards' Shared Responsibility Agreement (SRA) as part of a plan to develop local employment opportunities. The SRA will provide the infrastructure for pastoral and cattle enterprises at Hatches Creek, reducing the community's dependence on welfare.

Shared Responsibility Agreements are agreements between governments and Indigenous communities to provide discretionary funding in return for community obligations. The new arrangements developed from an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments and replace the previous ATSIC system of funding. For more information see 'Shared Responsibility Agreement' below.

Detailed Information:

Purpose

The SRA creates employment opportunities in Hatches Creek, which is 275 kilometres south-east of Tennant Creek. The SRA provides infrastructure to build new cattle yards, as well as providing support staff to ensure that the project is a sustainable.

Shared responsibilities

The community at Hatches Creek will build the cattle yards, fences, gates and water troughs that form the infrastructure for this enterprise. They will muster the cattle, which grazes on the Anurrete Aboriginal Lands Trust lands. The community also agrees to follow the advice of the Indigenous Pastoral Development Officers.

Through the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC), the Commonwealth Government will commit $100,000 to this SRA. This money will fund the purchase of materials required to build the cattle yards. They will also fund the placement of Indigenous Pastoral Development Officers to assist with the running of the cattle yards.

The Northern Territory Government will provide support from the pastoral industry development officers.

The Southern Barkly Aboriginal Corporation will transport the materials and equipment for the infrastructure, and will also provide Community Development Employment Programme (CDEP) places.

The Hatches Creek SRA is administered by the Tennant Creek Indigenous Coordination Centre.